Media item attachment system

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are media attachment systems to enable a user to embed a first media item with a link to a second media item, and distribute the first media item in a message to one or more recipient client devices. For example, the first media item may include a picture or video captured by a user at a client device. The user may generate a message that includes the first media item. In response, a media attachment system may cause display of an interface at the client device that includes an option to attach an address to a second media item to the message. For example, the second media item may include a web page, social media post, picture, or video identified by an address such as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/437,022, filed Feb. 20, 2017, the content ofwhich is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to mobilecomputing technology and, more particularly, but not by way oflimitation, to the presentation of media items at client devices.

BACKGROUND

Current systems enable the distribution of media content between clientdevices. For example, a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is a standardway to send messages that include multimedia content to and from amobile phone over a cellular network. MMS enables the delivery of avariety of media, including video content, an image, a slideshow ofmultiple images, or audio.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, themost significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to thefigure number in which that element is first introduced.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a networkin accordance with some embodiments, wherein the messaging systemincludes an attachment system.

FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating further details regarding amessaging system, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating data that may be stored inthe database of the messaging server system, according to certainexample embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a message,according to some embodiments, generated by a messaging clientapplication for communication.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example access-limitingprocess, in terms of which access to content (e.g., an ephemeralmessage, and associated multimedia payload of data) or a contentcollection (e.g., an ephemeral message story) may be time-limited (e.g.,made ephemeral) in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating various modules of an attachmentsystem, according to certain example embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating various operations of the attachmentsystem in attaching a second media item to a first media item, accordingto certain example embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating various operations of the attachmentsystem in performing a method of causing display of the second mediaitem within a presentation of the first media item, according to certainexample embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating various operations of the attachmentsystem in performing a method of causing display of the second mediaitem within a presentation of the first media item, according to certainexample embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating various operations of the attachmentsystem in performing a method of receiving a selection of a media itemto attach to a first media item, according to certain exampleembodiments.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating various interfaces to attach a secondmedia item to a first media item, according to certain exampleembodiments.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a representative softwarearchitecture, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described and used to implement variousembodiments.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to specific example embodiments forcarrying out the inventive subject matter of the present disclosure. Inthe following description, specific details are set forth in order toprovide a thorough understanding of the subject matter. It shall beappreciated that embodiments may be practiced without some or all ofthese specific details.

Disclosed are media attachment systems to enable a user to embed a firstmedia item with a link to a second media item and distribute the firstmedia item in a message to one or more recipient client devices. Forexample, the first media item may include a picture or video captured bya user at a client device.

The user may generate a message that includes the first media item. Inresponse, a media attachment system may cause display of an interface atthe client device that includes an option to attach an address to asecond media item to the message. For example, the second media item mayinclude a web page, social media post, picture, or video identified byan address such as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

In response to receiving a selection of the second media item, the mediaattachment system assigns the address to the second media item to thefirst media item. A second client device may receive the message thatincludes the first media item, and in response, the media attachmentsystem may generate and cause display of a presentation of the messageat the second client device. The presentation of the message may includea graphical icon representative of the second media item.

In response to receiving a selection of the graphical icon via a userinput into the second client device, the media attachment systemretrieves the second media item based on the address (e.g., a URL), andgenerates a presentation of the second media item within thepresentation of the first media item. For example, the media attachmentsystem may cause display of a browser window within the presentation ofthe first media item, and navigate the browser window to the URL of thesecond media item.

In some example embodiments, the media attachment system generates arepresentation of the second media item, in response to receiving theselection of the graphical icon. For example, the media attachmentsystem may access the address of the second media item to retrieve thesecond media item. Upon retrieving the second media item, the mediaattachment system generates a representation of the second media item,such as a screenshot of the second media item. A screenshot is an imagetaken to record the visible items displayed on a monitor, display,television, or other visual output device in use. Usually, this is adigital image using the operating system or software running on thecomputer, but it can also be a capture made by a camera or a deviceintercepting the video output of the display. The media attachmentsystem causes display of the representation of the second media itemwithin the presentation of the first media item. In further embodiments,the media attachment system generates the representation of the secondmedia item using content of the second media item. For instance, themedia attachment system identifies an image from the second media itemto be used to represent the second media item (e.g., based on meta dataof the second media item indicating an image associated with a title forthe second media item). In this way, the media attachment systemgenerates a representation of the second media item that isrepresentative of the content of the second media item.

Consider an illustrative example from a user perspective. A user at afirst client device generates media content (e.g., digital video) toattach to a message to a second client device. In response to attachingthe media content top the message, the media attachment system promptsthe user to assign an address to second media content to the message.For example, the media attachment system may cause display of aninterface that includes a search window to receive search requests. Theuser may provide the search window with a keyword, and in response themedia attachment system retrieves and causes display of a set of searchresults. The set of search results include media content, such aspictures, videos, social media posts, and web pages.

The user may select the second media content (e.g., a web pageidentified by a URL) from among the set of search results. In responseto receiving the selection of the second media content, the mediaattachment system generates a graphical icon representative of thesecond media content (e.g., a logo associated with the web page). Insome example embodiments, the graphical icon may indicate a type of thesecond content (e.g., picture, video, web page, social media post),while in further embodiments the graphical icon may include a singleuniversal icon (e.g., an arrow, a star) for all media content types.

The user may transmit the message that includes the first media content(e.g., the digital video) to the second client device. In response, themedia attachment system generates and causes display of a notificationat the second client device. In response to receiving a selection of thenotification, the media attachment system generates and causes displayof a presentation of the first media item at the second client device,wherein the presentation includes the graphical icon representative ofthe second media content (e.g., a web page).

In response to receiving a selection of the graphical icon, the mediaattachment system generates and causes display of a browser windowwithin the presentation of the first media content, and navigates thebrowser window to the web page identified by the URL.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system 100 forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network.The messaging system 100 includes multiple client devices 102, each ofwhich hosts a number of applications including a messaging clientapplication 104. Each messaging client application 104 iscommunicatively coupled to other instances of the messaging clientapplication 104 and a messaging server system 108 via a network 106(e.g., the Internet).

Accordingly, each messaging client application 104 is able tocommunicate and exchange data with another messaging client application104 and with the messaging server system 108 via the network 106. Thedata exchanged between messaging client applications 104, and between amessaging client application 104 and the messaging server system 108,includes functions (e.g., commands to invoke functions) as well aspayload data (e.g., text, audio, video or other multimedia data whichmay include or be included in a message).

The messaging server system 108 provides server-side functionality viathe network 106 to a particular messaging client application 104. Whilecertain functions of the messaging system 100 are described herein asbeing performed by either a messaging client application 104 or by themessaging server system 108, it will be appreciated that the location ofcertain functionality either within the messaging client application 104or the messaging server system 108 is a design choice. For example, itmay be technically preferable to initially deploy certain technology andfunctionality within the messaging server system 108, but to latermigrate this technology and functionality to the messaging clientapplication 104 where a client device 102 has a sufficient processingcapacity.

The messaging server system 108 supports various services and operationsthat are provided to the messaging client application 104. Suchoperations include transmitting data to, receiving data from, andprocessing data generated by the messaging client application 104. Insome embodiments, this data includes, message content, client deviceinformation, geolocation information, media annotation and overlays,message content persistence conditions, social network information, andlive event information, as examples. In other embodiments, other data isused. Any such data may be used as part of or to generate anamorphicmedia in accordance with different embodiments described herein. Dataexchanges within the messaging system 100 are invoked and controlledthrough functions available via user interfaces (Uls) of the messagingclient application 104.

Turning now specifically to the messaging server system 108, anApplication Program Interface (API) server 110 is coupled to, andprovides a programmatic interface to, an application server 112. Theapplication server 112 is communicatively coupled to a databaseserver(s) 118, which facilitates access to a database(s) 120 in which isstored data associated with messages processed by the application server112.

Dealing specifically with the Application Program Interface (API) server110, this server receives and transmits message data (e.g., commands andmessage payloads) between the client device 102 and the applicationserver 112. Specifically, the Application Program Interface (API) server110 provides a set of interfaces (e.g., routines and protocols) that canbe called or queried by the messaging client application 104 in order toinvoke functionality of the application server 112. The ApplicationProgram Interface (API) server 110 exposes various functions supportedby the application server 112, including account registration, loginfunctionality, the sending of messages, via the application server 112,from a particular messaging client application 104 to another messagingclient application 104, the sending of media files (e.g., images orvideo) from a messaging client application 104 to the messaging serverapplication 114, and for possible access by another messaging clientapplication 104, the setting of a collection of media data (e.g.,story), the retrieval of a list of friends of a user of a client device102, the retrieval of such collections, the retrieval of messages andcontent, the adding and deletion of friends to a social graph, thelocation of friends within a social graph, opening and application event(e.g., relating to the messaging client application 104).

The application server 112 hosts a number of applications andsubsystems, including a messaging server application 114, an imageprocessing system 116, a social network system 122, and an attachmentsystem 124. The messaging server application 114 implements a number ofmessage processing technologies and functions, particularly related tothe aggregation and other processing of content (e.g., textual andmultimedia content) included in messages received from multipleinstances of the messaging client application 104. As will be describedin further detail, the text and media content from multiple sources maybe aggregated into collections of content (e.g., called stories orgalleries). These collections are then made available, by the messagingserver application 114, to the messaging client application 104. Otherprocessor and memory intensive processing of data may also be performedserver-side by the messaging server application 114, in view of thehardware requirements for such processing.

The application server 112 also includes an image processing system 116that is dedicated to performing various image processing operations,typically with respect to images or video received within the payload ofa message at the messaging server application 114.

The social network system 122 supports various social networkingfunctions services, and makes these functions and services available tothe messaging server application 114. To this end, the social networksystem 122 maintains and accesses an entity graph 304 within thedatabase(s) 120. Examples of functions and services supported by thesocial network system 122 include the identification of other users ofthe messaging system 100 with which a particular user has relationshipsor is “following,” and also the identification of other entities andinterests of a particular user. The attachment system 124 providesfunctionality to identify and enable personalization of occurrences oftypography identified in a presentation of an image at a client device(e.g., client device 102).

The application server 112 is communicatively coupled to one or moredatabase server(s) 118, which facilitates access to a database(s) 120 inwhich is stored data associated with messages processed by the messagingserver application 114.

FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating further details regarding themessaging system 100, according to example embodiments. Specifically,the messaging system 100 is shown to comprise the messaging clientapplication 104 and the application server 112, which in turn embody anumber of some subsystems, namely an ephemeral timer system 202, acollection management system 204 and an annotation system 206.

The ephemeral timer system 202 is responsible for enforcing thetemporary access to content permitted by the messaging clientapplication 104 and the messaging server application 114. To this end,the ephemeral timer system 202 incorporates a number of timers that,based on duration and display parameters associated with a message, orcollection of messages (e.g., a SNAPCHAT story), selectively display andenable access to messages and associated content such as anamorphicmedia via the messaging client application 104. Further detailsregarding the operation of the ephemeral timer system 202 are providedbelow.

The collection management system 204 is responsible for managingcollections of media (e.g., collections of text, image video and audiodata). In some examples, a collection of content (e.g., messages,including personalized typography, images, video, text and audio) may beorganized into an “event gallery” or an “event story.” Such a collectionmay be made available for a specified time period, such as the durationof an event to which the content relates. For example, content such asmedia items embedded with links to other media items, such as links toweb pages may be made available as a “story” for the duration of a timeperiod. The collection management system 204 may also be responsible forpublishing an icon that provides notification of the existence of aparticular collection to the user interface of the messaging clientapplication 104.

The collection management system 204 furthermore includes a curationinterface 208 that allows a collection manager to manage and curate aparticular collection of content. For example, the curation interface208 enables an event organizer to curate a collection of contentrelating to a specific event (e.g., delete inappropriate content orredundant messages). Additionally, the collection management system 204employs machine vision (or image recognition technology) and contentrules to automatically curate a content collection. In certainembodiments, compensation may be paid to a user for inclusion of usergenerated content into a collection. In such cases, the curationinterface 208 operates to automatically make payments to such users forthe use of their content.

The annotation system 206 provides various functions that enable a userto annotate or otherwise modify or edit media content associated with amessage. For example, the annotation system 206 provides functionsrelated to the generation and publishing of media overlays for messagesprocessed by the messaging system 100. The annotation system 206operatively supplies a media overlay (e.g., a SNAPCHAT filter) to themessaging client application 104 based on a geolocation of the clientdevice 102. In another example, the annotation system 206 operativelysupplies a media overlay to the messaging client application 104 basedon other information, such as, social network information of the user ofthe client device 102. A media overlay may include audio and visualcontent and visual effects. Examples of audio and visual content includesocial media posts, web pages, pictures, texts, logos, animations, andsound effects. An example of a visual effect includes color overlaying,or projecting an anamorphic media item over a presentation depicting aspace. The audio and visual content or the visual effects can be appliedto a media content item (e.g., a photo) at the client device 102. Forexample, the media overlay including text that can be overlaid on top ofa photograph or video stream generated taken by the client device 102.In another example, the media overlay includes an identification of alocation overlay (e.g., Venice beach), a name of a live event, or a nameof a merchant overlay (e.g., Beach Coffee House). In another example,the annotation system 206 uses the geolocation of the client device 102to identify a media overlay that includes the name of a merchant at thegeolocation of the client device 102. The media overlay may includeother indicia associated with the merchant. The media overlays may bestored in the database(s) 120 and accessed through the databaseserver(s) 118.

In one example embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides auser-based publication platform that enables users to select ageolocation on a map, and upload content associated with the selectedgeolocation. The user may also specify circumstances under which aparticular media overlay should be offered to other users. Theannotation system 206 generates a media overlay that includes theuploaded content and associates the uploaded content with the selectedgeolocation.

In another example embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides amerchant-based publication platform that enables merchants to select aparticular media overlay associated with a geolocation via a biddingprocess. For example, the annotation system 206 associates the mediaoverlay of a highest bidding merchant with a corresponding geolocationfor a predefined amount of time

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram 300 illustrating data which may be storedin the database(s) 120 of the messaging server system 108, according tocertain example embodiments. While the content of the database(s) 120 isshown to comprise a number of tables, it will be appreciated that thedata could be stored in other types of data structures (e.g., as anobject-oriented database).

The database(s) 120 includes message data stored within a message table314. The entity table 302 stores entity data, including an entity graph304. Entities for which records are maintained within the entity table302 may include individuals, corporate entities, organizations, objects,places, events etc. Regardless of type, any entity regarding which themessaging server system 108 stores data may be a recognized entity. Eachentity is provided with a unique identifier, as well as an entity typeidentifier (not shown).

The entity graph 304 furthermore stores information regardingrelationships and associations between entities. Such relationships maybe social, professional (e.g., work at a common corporation ororganization) interested-based or activity-based, merely for example.

The database(s) 120 also stores annotation data, in the example form offilters, in an annotation table 312. Filters for which data is storedwithin the annotation table 312 are associated with and applied tovideos (for which data is stored in a video table 310) and/or images(for which data is stored in an image table 308). Filters, in oneexample, are overlays that are displayed as overlaid on an image orvideo during presentation to a recipient user. For example, the overlaymay include a graphical icon representative of a media item such as aweb page. Filters may be of varies types, including a user-selectedfilters from a gallery of filters presented to a sending user by themessaging client application 104 when the sending user is composing amessage. Other types of filers include geolocation filters (also knownas geo-filters) which may be presented to a sending user based ongeographic location. For example, geolocation filters specific to aneighborhood or special location may be presented within a userinterface by the messaging client application 104, based on geolocationinformation determined by a GPS unit of the client device 102. Anothertype of filer is a data filer, which may be selectively presented to asending user by the messaging client application 104, based on otherinputs or information gathered by the client device 102 during themessage creation process. Example of data filters include currenttemperature at a specific location, a current speed at which a sendinguser is traveling, battery life for a client device 102 or the currenttime.

Other annotation data that may be stored within the image table 308 isso-called “lens” data. A “lens” may be a real-time special effect andsound that may be added to an image or a video.

As mentioned above, the video table 310 stores video data which, in oneembodiment, is associated with messages for which records are maintainedwithin the message table 314. Similarly, the image table 308 storesimage data associated with messages for which message data is stored inthe entity table 302. The entity table 302 may associate variousannotations from the annotation table 312 with various images and videosstored in the image table 308 and the video table 310.

A story table 306 stores data regarding collections of messages andassociated image, video or audio data, which are compiled into acollection (e.g., a SNAPCHAT story or a gallery). The creation of aparticular collection may be initiated by a particular user (e.g., eachuser for which a record is maintained in the entity table 302) A usermay create a “personal story” in the form of a collection of contentthat has been created and sent/broadcast by that user. To this end, theuser interface of the messaging client application 104 may include anicon that is user selectable to enable a sending user to add specificcontent to his or her personal story.

A collection may also constitute a “live story,” which is a collectionof content from multiple users that is created manually, automaticallyor using a combination of manual and automatic techniques. For example,a “live story” may constitute a curated stream of user-submitted contentfrom varies locations and events. Users, whose client devices havelocation services enabled and are at a common location event at aparticular time may, for example, be presented with an option, via auser interface of the messaging client application 104, to contributecontent to a particular live story. The live story may be identified tothe user by the messaging client application 104, based on his or herlocation. The end result is a “live story” told from a communityperspective.

A further type of content collection is known as a “location story,”which enables a user whose client device 102 is located within aspecific geographic location (e.g., on a college or university campus)to contribute to a particular collection. In some embodiments, acontribution to a location story may require a second degree ofauthentication to verify that the end user belongs to a specificorganization or other entity (e.g., is a student on the universitycampus).

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a message 400,according to some in some embodiments, generated by a messaging clientapplication 104 for communication to a further messaging clientapplication 104 or the messaging server application 114. The content ofa particular message 400 is used to populate the message table 314stored within the database(s) 120, accessible by the messaging serverapplication 114. Similarly, the content of a message 400 is stored inmemory as “in-transit” or “in-flight” data of the client device 102 orthe application server 112. The message 400 is shown to include thefollowing components:

-   -   A message identifier 402: a unique identifier that identifies        the message 400.    -   A message text payload 404: text, to be generated by a user via        a user interface of the client device 102 and that is included        in the message 400.    -   A message image payload 406: image data, captured by a camera        component of a client device 102 or retrieved from memory of a        client device 102, and that is included in the message 400.    -   A message video payload 408: video data, captured by a camera        component or retrieved from a memory component of the client        device 102 and that is included in the message 400.    -   A message audio payload 410: audio data, captured by a        microphone or retrieved from the memory component of the client        device 102, and that is included in the message 400.    -   A message annotations 412: annotation data (e.g., filters,        stickers or other enhancements) that represents annotations to        be applied to message image payload 406, message video payload        408, or message audio payload 410 of the message 400.    -   A message duration parameter 414: parameter value indicating, in        seconds, the amount of time for which content of the message        (e.g., the message image payload 406, message video payload 408,        message audio payload 410) is to be presented or made accessible        to a user via the messaging client application 104.    -   A message geolocation parameter 416: geolocation data (e.g.,        latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates) associated with the        content payload of the message. Multiple message geolocation        parameter 416 values may be included in the payload, each of        these parameter values being associated with respect to content        items included in the content (e.g., a specific image into        within the message image payload 406, or a specific video in the        message video payload 408).    -   A message story identifier 418: identifier values identifying        one or more content collections (e.g., “stories”) with which a        particular content item in the message image payload 406 of the        message 400 is associated. For example, multiple images within        the message image payload 406 may each be associated with        multiple content collections using identifier values.    -   A message tag 420: each message 400 may be tagged with multiple        tags, each of which is indicative of the subject matter of        content included in the message payload. For example, where a        particular image included in the message image payload 406        depicts an animal (e.g., a lion), a tag value may be included        within the message tag 420 that is indicative of the relevant        animal. Tag values may be generated manually, based on user        input, or may be automatically generated using, for example,        image recognition.    -   A message sender identifier 422: an identifier (e.g., a        messaging system identifier, email address or device identifier)        indicative of a user of the client device 102 on which the        message 400 was generated and from which the message 400 was        sent    -   A message receiver identifier 424: an identifier (e.g., a        messaging system identifier, email address or device identifier)        indicative of a user of the client device 102 to which the        message 400 is addressed.

The contents (e.g. values) of the various components of message 400 maybe pointers to locations in tables within which content data values arestored. For example, an image value in the message image payload 406 maybe a pointer to (or address of) a location within an image table 308.Similarly, values within the message video payload 408 may point to datastored within a video table 310, values stored within the messageannotations 412 may point to data stored in an annotation table 312,values stored within the message story identifier 418 may point to datastored in a story table 306, and values stored within the message senderidentifier 422 and the message receiver identifier 424 may point to userrecords stored within an entity table 302.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an access-limiting process500, in terms of which access to content (e.g., an ephemeral message502, and associated multimedia payload of data including a media itemembedded into another media item) or a content collection (e.g., anephemeral message story 504) may be time-limited (e.g., made ephemeral).For example, an ephemeral message 502 may include an anamorphic mediaitem which may be displayed for a period of time specified by the storytimer 514.

An ephemeral message 502 is shown to be associated with a messageduration parameter 506, the value of which determines an amount of timethat the ephemeral message 502 will be displayed to a receiving user ofthe ephemeral message 502 by the messaging client application 104. Inone embodiment, where the messaging client application 104 is a SNAPCHATapplication client, an ephemeral message 502 is viewable by a receivinguser for up to a maximum of 10 seconds, depending on the amount of timethat the sending user specifies using the message duration parameter506.

The message duration parameter 506 and the message receiver identifier424 are shown to be inputs to a message timer 512, which is responsiblefor determining the amount of time that the ephemeral message 502 isshown to a particular receiving user identified by the message receiveridentifier 424. In particular, the ephemeral message 502 will only beshown to the relevant receiving user for a time period determined by thevalue of the message duration parameter 506. The message timer 512 isshown to provide output to a more generalized ephemeral timer system202, which is responsible for the overall timing of display of content(e.g., an ephemeral message 502) to a receiving user.

The ephemeral message 502 is shown in FIG. 5 to be included within anephemeral message story 504 (e.g., a personal SNAPCHAT story, or anevent story). The ephemeral message story 504 has an associated storyduration parameter 508, a value of which determines a time-duration forwhich the ephemeral message story 504 is presented and accessible tousers of the messaging system 100. The story duration parameter 508, forexample, may be the duration of a music concert, where the ephemeralmessage story 504 is a collection of content pertaining to that concert.Alternatively, a user (either the owning user or a curator user) mayspecify the value for the story duration parameter 508 when performingthe setup and creation of the ephemeral message story 504.

Additionally, each ephemeral message 502 within the ephemeral messagestory 504 has an associated story participation parameter 510, a valueof which determines the duration of time for which the ephemeral message502 will be accessible within the context of the ephemeral message story504. Accordingly, a particular ephemeral message story 504 may “expire”and become inaccessible within the context of the ephemeral messagestory 504, prior to the ephemeral message story 504 itself expiring interms of the story duration parameter 508. The story duration parameter508, story participation parameter 510, and message receiver identifier424 each provide input to a story timer 514, which operationallydetermines, firstly, whether a particular ephemeral message 502 of theephemeral message story 504 will be displayed to a particular receivinguser and, if so, for how long. Note that the ephemeral message story 504is also aware of the identity of the particular receiving user as aresult of the message receiver identifier 424.

Accordingly, the story timer 514 operationally controls the overalllifespan of an associated ephemeral message story 504, as well as anindividual ephemeral message 502 included in the ephemeral message story504. In one embodiment, each and every ephemeral message 502 within theephemeral message story 504 remains viewable and accessible for atime-period specified by the story duration parameter 508. In a furtherembodiment, a certain ephemeral message 502 may expire, within thecontext of ephemeral message story 504, based on a story participationparameter 510. Note that a message duration parameter 506 may stilldetermine the duration of time for which a particular ephemeral message502 is displayed to a receiving user, even within the context of theephemeral message story 504. Accordingly, the message duration parameter506 determines the duration of time that a particular ephemeral message502 is displayed to a receiving user, regardless of whether thereceiving user is viewing that ephemeral message 502 inside or outsidethe context of an ephemeral message story 504.

The ephemeral timer system 202 may furthermore operationally remove aparticular ephemeral message 502 from the ephemeral message story 504based on a determination that it has exceeded an associated storyparticipation parameter 510. For example, when a sending user hasestablished a story participation parameter 510 of 24 hours fromposting, the ephemeral timer system 202 will remove the relevantephemeral message 502 from the ephemeral message story 504 after thespecified 24 hours. The ephemeral timer system 202 also operates toremove an ephemeral message story 504 either when the storyparticipation parameter 510 for each and every ephemeral message 502within the ephemeral message story 504 has expired, or when theephemeral message story 504 itself has expired in terms of the storyduration parameter 508.

In certain use cases, a creator of a particular ephemeral message story504 may specify an indefinite story duration parameter 508. In thiscase, the expiration of the story participation parameter 510 for thelast remaining ephemeral message 502 within the ephemeral message story504 will determine when the ephemeral message story 504 itself expires.In this case, a new ephemeral message 502, added to the ephemeralmessage story 504, with a new story participation parameter 510,effectively extends the life of an ephemeral message story 504 to equalthe value of the story participation parameter 510.

Responsive to the ephemeral timer system 202 determining that anephemeral message story 504 has expired (e.g., is no longer accessible),the ephemeral timer system 202 communicates with the messaging system100 (and, for example, specifically the messaging client application 104to cause an indicium (e.g., an icon) associated with the relevantephemeral message story 504 to no longer be displayed within a userinterface of the messaging client application 104. Similarly, when theephemeral timer system 202 determines that the message durationparameter 506 for a particular ephemeral message 502 has expired, theephemeral timer system 202 causes the messaging client application 104to no longer display an indicium (e.g., an icon or textualidentification) associated with the ephemeral message 502.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram 600 illustrating components of the attachmentsystem 124, that configure the attachment system 124 to embed a firstmedia item with a link to a second media item (e.g., a web page),according to various example embodiments. The attachment system 124 isshown as including a media generation module 602, a presentation module604, and an attachment module 606, all, or some, configured tocommunicate with each other (e.g., via a bus, shared memory, or aswitch). Any one or more of these modules may be implemented using oneor more processors 608 (e.g., by configuring such one or more processorsto perform functions described for that module) and hence may includeone or more of the processors 608.

Any one or more of the modules described may be implemented usinghardware alone (e.g., one or more of the processors 608 of a machine) ora combination of hardware and software. For example, any moduledescribed of the attachment system 124 may physically include anarrangement of one or more of the processors 608 (e.g., a subset of oramong the one or more processors of the machine) configured to performthe operations described herein for that module. As another example, anymodule of the typography personalization 124 may include software,hardware, or both, that configure an arrangement of one or moreprocessors 608 (e.g., among the one or more processors of the machine)to perform the operations described herein for that module. Accordingly,different modules of the attachment system 124 may include and configuredifferent arrangements of such processors 608 or a single arrangement ofsuch processors 608 at different points in time. Moreover, any two ormore modules of the attachment system 124 may be combined into a singlemodule, and the functions described herein for a single module may besubdivided among multiple modules. Furthermore, according to variousexample embodiments, modules described herein as being implementedwithin a single machine, database, or device may be distributed acrossmultiple machines, databases, or devices.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating various operations of the attachmentsystem 124 in performing a method 700 for embedding first media contentwith a link to second media content, according to certain exampleembodiments. Operations of the method 700 may be performed by themodules described above with respect to FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 7, themethod 700 includes one or more operations 702, 704, 706, 708, 710, 712,and 714.

Operation 702 may be performed by the media generation module 602. Atoperation 702, the media generation module 602 generates a data object(e.g., a message) that includes a first media item (e.g., image orvideo). For example, a user of a first client device 102 may capture orrecord an image or video, and append the image or video to a message tobe transmitted to a second client device (or multiple client devices).

Operations 704 and 706 may be performed by the presentation module 604.At operation 704, the presentation module 604 generates and causesdisplay of an interface that includes options to assign a second mediaitem to the first media item, in response to the media generation module602 generating the data object. In some instances, multiple media items(e.g., multiple URLs represented by one or more graphical icons) areassigned to the first media item. In some example embodiments, theinterface may include a search window to receive search requests. A userof a client device 102 may provide user inputs that include searchqueries (e.g., a keyword or search term) into the interface. In responseto receiving a search query, the presentation module 604 retrieves anddisplays one or more search results within the interface. For example,the user may provide a search query, and in response the presentationmodule 604 may retrieve one or more search results that include webpages. In further example embodiments, the presentation module 604 ranksthe search results according to a relevance metric. In various exampleembodiments, the relevance metric indicates how relevant the searchresults are to the search queries or how relevant the search results areto the first media item (e.g., based on an image, an emoji, or textincluded in the first media item).

At operation 706, the presentation module 604 receives a user inputselecting a second media item from among the set of search results,through the client device (e.g., a client device 102). For example, thesecond media item may include a web page. In response to receiving theselection of the second media item, the attachment module 608 assigns anaddress to the second media item (e.g., a URL) to the data objectgenerated by the media generation module 602.

Assigning the address of the second media item to the first media itemincludes attaching a graphical icon representative of the second mediaitem to the first media item. The graphical icon may be linked with theaddress to the second media item (e.g., a URL to a web page), such thatinteracting with the graphical icon causes a browser to cause display ofthe second media item (e.g., the web page). In some example embodiments,the graphical icon may be generated based on properties of the secondmedia item. The properties may include a media type (e.g., picture,video, social media post, web page, audio, etc.).

Operation 710 may be performed by the presentation module 604. Atoperation 710, the presentation module 604 causes display of apresentation of the second media item. For example, a message (thatincludes the first media item) may be delivered by a first client deviceto one or more recipient devices (including a second client device). Inresponse to the second client device receiving the message, thepresentation module 604 causes display of the second media item at thesecond client device. The presentation of the second media item mayinclude the graphical icon representative of the second media item.

At operation 712, the presentation module 604 receives a selection ofthe graphical icon through the second client device. For example, thegraphical icon may be configured to receive user inputs through atouch-enabled device. The inputs may include upward or downward swipinggestures. In response to receiving the selection of the graphical icon,at operation 714 the presentation module 604 causes display of thesecond media item within the presentation of the first media item.

In some example embodiments, in response to receiving the selection ofthe graphical icon, the presentation module 604 retrieves the secondmedia item based on the address. For example, the presentation module604 may access a web page based on the URL to retrieve and cause displayof the second media item within the presentation of the first mediaitem. In some example embodiments, the second media item may bepresented within the presentation of the first media item for a periodof time determined based on the ephemeral timer system 202. For example,the second media item may only be made available for viewing by thepresentation module 604 for a period of time (e.g., Feb. 4, between thehours of 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm Pacific time), for a duration of time(e.g., 30 seconds), or while the second client device (e.g., a clientdevice 102) is within a geographic region.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating various operations of the attachmentsystem 124 in performing a method 800 to attach a data object thatincludes a first media item embedded with a second media item to amessage from a first client device to a second client device, accordingto certain example embodiments. Operations of the method 800 may beperformed by the modules described above with respect to FIG. 6. Asshown in FIG. 8, the method 800 includes one or more operations 802,804, and 806, that may be performed as a part (e.g., precursor,subroutine) of the method 700.

At operation 802, the media generation module 602 receives a request toattach the data object to a message, by a first client device. A user ofthe first client device may generate a message to a second clientdevice, and attach the data object to the message. For example, the dataobject may include a first media item such as an image captured by theuser, and the message may include an ephemeral message.

At operation 804, the second client device receives the message from thefirst client device. In some example embodiments, the presentationmodule 604 generates and causes display of a notification at the secondclient device in response to detecting that the second client device hasreceived the message.

At operation 806, the presentation module 604 causes display of apresentation of the first media item at the second client device. Thepresentation of the first media item may include a display of the firstmedia item within a graphical user interface displayed at the secondclient device, and may include a graphical icon representative of thesecond media item at a position within the presentation. The graphicalicon may be interactive, such that a user may touch or swipe thegraphical icon to cause display of the second media item within thepresentation.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating various operations of the attachmentsystem 124 in performing a method 900 for causing display of a secondmedia item within a presentation of a first media item, according tocertain example embodiments. Operations of the method 900 may beperformed by the modules described above with respect to FIG. 6. Asshown in FIG. 9, the method 900 includes one or more operations 902,904, 906, and 908, that may be performed as a part (e.g., precursor,subroutine) of the method 700.

At operation 902, the presentation module 604 accesses a URL associatedwith the second media item in response to receiving a selection of agraphical icon representative of the second media item within apresentation of a first media item. For example, a user of the secondclient device may provide a user input through the graphical icon,including a touch, a swipe, or a tapping gesture. In response toreceiving the user input, the presentation module 604 accesses a URLassociated with the second media item to retrieve the second media item.

At operation 904, the presentation module 604 retrieves the second mediaitem from the URL. For example, the second media item may include a webpage, or social media post, hosted at a URL and available through anetwork.

At operation 906, the presentation module 604 generates a representationof the second media item in response to retrieving the second media itemfrom the URL. In some example embodiments, at operation 908 thepresentation module 604 causes display of a browser window within thepresentation of the first media item, and navigates the browser windowto the URL to display the second media item. In further embodiments, thepresentation module 604 accesses the URL to retrieve the second mediaitem and generate a screenshot of the second media item, and displaysthe screenshot of the second media item within the presentation of thefirst media item.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating various operations of the attachmentsystem 124 in performing method 1000 for causing display of a set ofsearch results and receiving a selection of a second media item,according to certain example embodiments. Operations of the method 1000may be performed by the modules described above with respect to FIG. 6.As shown in FIG. 10, the method 1000 includes one or more operations1002, 1004, and 1006, that may be performed as a part (e.g., precursor,subroutine) of the method 700.

At operation 1002, the presentation module 604 receives a search requestthrough the search window displayed at the client device 102. The searchrequest may include user inputs such as text or audio queries (e.g., akeyword or search term) into the interface. For example, a user of theclient device 102 may speak into a microphone of the client device 102to provide a search query, or may simply enter the search query as atext string into the search window.

In response to receiving the search query, at operation 1004, thepresentation module 604 retrieves and displays one or more searchresults within the interface. For example, the user may provide a searchquery, and in response the presentation module 604 may retrieve one ormore search results that include web pages.

At operation 1006, the presentation module 604 receives a selection of asecond media item from among the one or more search results. In responseto receiving the selection of the second media item, the presentationmodule 604 retrieves an address of the second media item (e.g., a URL),and assigns the address to the data object.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating various interfaces 1100 to attach asecond media item to a first media item, according to certain exampleembodiments. The various interfaces 1100 include a first media item 1110(as seen in interface 1102), a search interface 1104, and a second mediaitem 1112 (as seen in interface 1106).

The first media item 1110 depicted in interface 1102 may include imageor video data captured by a camera associated with the client device102, as well as image data retrieved through a network, or received bythe client device 102 in a message. For example, a user of the clientdevice 102 may capture an image by the operations described in operation702 in FIG. 7. Having captured the media item 1110, the presentationmodule 604 may generate and cause display of the interface 1102 at theclient device 102, wherein the interface 1102 includes one or moreinterface elements 1118 to manipulate or otherwise alter the first mediaitem 1110. In some example embodiments, as discussed above, the one ormore interface elements may include an option to assign a second mediaitem (e.g., the second media item 1112) to the first media item 1110.For example, upon capturing (or receiving) the first media item 1110,the presentation module 602 may generate and cause display of the one ormore interface elements 1118.

As discussed in operation 1002 of FIG. 10, the presentation module 604generates and causes display of the search interface 1104 in response toa user selecting an option to attach a second media item to the firstmedia item, from among the one or more interface elements 1118. Thesearch interface 1104 include a search bar where a user may enter asearch query (e.g., a text string). For example, a user may providesearch queries in the search interface 1104, and in response, thepresentation module 602 may retrieve and present a set of search results1114. In some example embodiments, the presentation module 602 mayadditionally retrieve one or more media items previously attached tomedia items in messages by the user.

Interface 1106 includes a presentation of a second media item 1112. Forexample, the user may select the second media item 1112 from among theset of search results 1114. The presentation module 602 generates andcauses display of a presentation of the second media item 1112 (e.g.,content of a website) at the client device 102. The presentation of themedia item 1112 may include an attachment icon 1108. By selecting theattachment icon 1108, the attachment module 606 assigns the address tothe second media item 1112 to the first media item 1110, as discussed inoperation 708 of FIG. 7.

Software Architecture

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example software architecture1206, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described. FIG. 12 is a non-limiting example of asoftware architecture and it will be appreciated that many otherarchitectures may be implemented to facilitate the functionalitydescribed herein. The software architecture 1206 may execute on hardwaresuch as machine 1200 of FIG. 12 that includes, among other things,processors 1204, memory 1214, and I/O components 1218. A representativehardware layer 1252 is illustrated and can represent, for example, themachine 1200 of FIG. 12. The representative hardware layer 1252 includesa processing unit 1254 having associated executable instructions 1204.Executable instructions 1204 represent the executable instructions ofthe software architecture 1206, including implementation of the methods,components and so forth described herein. The hardware layer 1252 alsoincludes memory and/or storage modules memory/storage 1256, which alsohave executable instructions 1204. The hardware layer 1252 may alsocomprise other hardware 1258.

In the example architecture of FIG. 12, the software architecture 1206may be conceptualized as a stack of layers where each layer providesparticular functionality. For example, the software architecture 1206may include layers such as an operating system 1202, libraries 1220,applications 1216 and a presentation layer 1214. Operationally, theapplications 1216 and/or other components within the layers may invokeapplication programming interface (API) API calls 1208 through thesoftware stack and receive a response as in response to the API calls1208. The layers illustrated are representative in nature and not allsoftware architectures have all layers. For example, some mobile orspecial purpose operating systems may not provide aframeworks/middleware 1218, while others may provide such a layer. Othersoftware architectures may include additional or different layers.

The operating system 1202 may manage hardware resources and providecommon services. The operating system 1202 may include, for example, akernel 1222, services 1224 and drivers 1226. The kernel 1222 may act asan abstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers.For example, the kernel 1222 may be responsible for memory management,processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management,networking, security settings, and so on. The services 1224 may provideother common services for the other software layers. The drivers 1226are responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlyinghardware. For instance, the drivers 1226 include display drivers, cameradrivers, Bluetooth® drivers, flash memory drivers, serial communicationdrivers (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB) drivers), Wi-Fi® drivers,audio drivers, power management drivers, and so forth depending on thehardware configuration.

The libraries 1220 provide a common infrastructure that is used by theapplications 1216 and/or other components and/or layers. The libraries1220 provide functionality that allows other software components toperform tasks in an easier fashion than to interface directly with theunderlying operating system 1202 functionality (e.g., kernel 1222,services 1224 and/or drivers 1226). The libraries 1220 may includesystem libraries 1244 (e.g., C standard library) that may providefunctions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulationfunctions, mathematical functions, and the like. In addition, thelibraries 1220 may include API libraries 1246 such as media libraries(e.g., libraries to support presentation and manipulation of variousmedia format such as MPREG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG), graphicslibraries (e.g., an OpenGL framework that may be used to render 2D and3D in a graphic content on a display), database libraries (e.g., SQLitethat may provide various relational database functions), web libraries(e.g., WebKit that may provide web browsing functionality), and thelike. The libraries 1220 may also include a wide variety of otherlibraries 1248 to provide many other APIs to the applications 1216 andother software components/modules.

The frameworks/middleware 1218 (also sometimes referred to asmiddleware) provide a higher-level common infrastructure that may beused by the applications 1216 and/or other software components/modules.For example, the frameworks/middleware 1218 may provide various graphicuser interface (GUI) functions, high-level resource management,high-level location services, and so forth. The frameworks/middleware1218 may provide a broad spectrum of other APIs that may be utilized bythe applications 1216 and/or other software components/modules, some ofwhich may be specific to a particular operating system 1202 or platform.

The applications 1216 include built-in applications 1238 and/orthird-party applications 1240. Examples of representative built-inapplications 1238 may include, but are not limited to, a contactsapplication, a browser application, a book reader application, alocation application, a media application, a messaging application,and/or a game application. Third-party applications 1240 may include anapplication developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software developmentkit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform,and may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such asIOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or other mobile operating systems. Thethird-party applications 1240 may invoke the API calls 1208 provided bythe mobile operating system (such as operating system 1202) tofacilitate functionality described herein.

The applications 1216 may use built in operating system functions (e.g.,kernel 1222, services 1224 and/or drivers 1226), libraries 1220, andframeworks/middleware 1218 to create user interfaces to interact withusers of the system. Alternatively, or additionally, in some systemsinteractions with a user may occur through a presentation layer, such aspresentation layer 1214. In these systems, the application/component“logic” can be separated from the aspects of the application/componentthat interact with a user.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine 1300,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.Specifically, FIG. 13 shows a diagrammatic representation of the machine1300 in the example form of a computer system, within which instructions1310 (e.g., software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, orother executable code) for causing the machine 1300 to perform any oneor more of the methodologies discussed herein may be executed. As such,the instructions 1310 may be used to implement modules or componentsdescribed herein. The instructions 1310 transform the general,non-programmed machine 1300 into a particular machine 1300 programmed tocarry out the described and illustrated functions in the mannerdescribed. In alternative embodiments, the machine 1300 operates as astandalone device or may be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines.In a networked deployment, the machine 1300 may operate in the capacityof a server machine or a client machine in a server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine 1300 may comprise, but not be limitedto, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), atablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, acellular telephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device(e.g., a smart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance),other smart devices, a web appliance, a network router, a networkswitch, a network bridge, or any machine capable of executing theinstructions 1310, sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to betaken by machine 1300. Further, while only a single machine 1300 isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include acollection of machines that individually or jointly execute theinstructions 1310 to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

The machine 1300 may include processors 1304, memory memory/storage1306, and I/O components 1318, which may be configured to communicatewith each other such as via a bus 1302. The memory/storage 1306 mayinclude a memory 1314, such as a main memory, or other memory storage,and a storage unit 1316, both accessible to the processors 1304 such asvia the bus 1302. The storage unit 1316 and memory 1314 store theinstructions 1310 embodying any one or more of the methodologies orfunctions described herein. The instructions 1310 may also reside,completely or partially, within the memory 1314, within the storage unit1316, within at least one of the processors 1304 (e.g., within theprocessor's cache memory), or any suitable combination thereof, duringexecution thereof by the machine 1300. Accordingly, the memory 1314, thestorage unit 1316, and the memory of processors 1304 are examples ofmachine-readable media.

The I/O components 1318 may include a wide variety of components toreceive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information,exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. The specific I/Ocomponents 1318 that are included in a particular machine 1300 willdepend on the type of machine. For example, portable machines such asmobile phones will likely include a touch input device or other suchinput mechanisms, while a headless server machine will likely notinclude such a touch input device. It will be appreciated that the I/Ocomponents 1318 may include many other components that are not shown inFIG. 13. The I/O components 1318 are grouped according to functionalitymerely for simplifying the following discussion and the grouping is inno way limiting. In various example embodiments, the I/O components 1318may include output components 1326 and input components 1328. The outputcomponents 1326 may include visual components (e.g., a display such as aplasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, aliquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)),acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., avibratory motor, resistance mechanisms), other signal generators, and soforth. The input components 1328 may include alphanumeric inputcomponents (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receivealphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumericinput components), point based input components (e.g., a mouse, atouchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointinginstrument), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touchscreen that provides location and/or force of touches or touch gestures,or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., amicrophone), and the like.

In further example embodiments, the I/O components 1318 may includebiometric components 1330, motion components 1334, environmentalenvironment components 1336, or position components 1338 among a widearray of other components. For example, the biometric components 1330may include components to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions,facial expressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking),measure biosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature,perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voiceidentification, retinal identification, facial identification,fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram basedidentification), and the like. The motion components 1334 may includeacceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensorcomponents, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth.The environment components 1336 may include, for example, illuminationsensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components(e.g., one or more thermometer that detect ambient temperature),humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g.,barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphonesthat detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g.,infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gasdetection sensors to detection concentrations of hazardous gases forsafety or to measure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other componentsthat may provide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding toa surrounding physical environment. The position components 1338 mayinclude location sensor components (e.g., a Global Position system (GPS)receiver component), altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters orbarometers that detect air pressure from which altitude may be derived),orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), and the like.

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 1318 may include communication components 1340operable to couple the machine 1300 to a network 1332 or devices 1320via coupling 1322 and coupling 1324 respectively. For example, thecommunication components 1340 may include a network interface componentor other suitable device to interface with the network 1332. In furtherexamples, communication components 1340 may include wired communicationcomponents, wireless communication components, cellular communicationcomponents, Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth®components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and othercommunication components to provide communication via other modalities.The devices 1320 may be another machine or any of a wide variety ofperipheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a UniversalSerial Bus (USB)).

Moreover, the communication components 1340 may detect identifiers orinclude components operable to detect identifiers. For example, thecommunication components 1340 may include Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components,optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, avariety of information may be derived via the communication components1340, such as, location via Internet Protocol (IP) geo-location,location via Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting a NFCbeacon signal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.

Glossary

“ANAMORPHOSIS” in this context refers to distortions and transformationsapplied to a media items such as images and videos, such that the mediaitems appear normal when viewed from a particular point or through asuitable viewing device, mirror, or lens.

“PERSPECTIVE” in this context refers to a viewing angle of a user at aparticular location.

“CARRIER SIGNAL” in this context refers to any intangible medium that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution bythe machine, and includes digital or analog communications signals orother intangible medium to facilitate communication of suchinstructions. Instructions may be transmitted or received over thenetwork using a transmission medium via a network interface device andusing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols.

“CLIENT DEVICE” in this context refers to any machine that interfaces toa communications network to obtain resources from one or more serversystems or other client devices. A client device may be, but is notlimited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, portable digitalassistants (PDAs), smart phones, tablets, ultra books, netbooks,laptops, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, game consoles, set-top boxes, or any othercommunication device that a user may use to access a network.

“COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK” in this context refers to one or more portionsof a network that may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, avirtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wirelessLAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), ametropolitan area network (MAN), the Internet, a portion of theInternet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), aplain old telephone service (POTS) network, a cellular telephonenetwork, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi® network, another type of network,or a combination of two or more such networks. For example, a network ora portion of a network may include a wireless or cellular network andthe coupling may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) connection, aGlobal System for Mobile communications (GSM) connection, or other typeof cellular or wireless coupling. In this example, the coupling mayimplement any of a variety of types of data transfer technology, such asSingle Carrier Radio Transmission Technology (1×RTT), Evolution-DataOptimized (EVDO) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)technology, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology,third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, fourthgeneration wireless (4G) networks, Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE)standard, others defined by various standard setting organizations,other long range protocols, or other data transfer technology.

“EMPHEMERAL MESSAGE” in this context refers to a message that isaccessible for a time-limited duration. An ephemeral message may be atext, an image, a video and the like. The access time for the ephemeralmessage may be set by the message sender. Alternatively, the access timemay be a default setting or a setting specified by the recipient.Regardless of the setting technique, the message is transitory.

“MACHINE-READABLE MEDIUM” in this context refers to a component, deviceor other tangible media able to store instructions and data temporarilyor permanently and may include, but is not be limited to, random-accessmemory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), buffer memory, flash memory,optical media, magnetic media, cache memory, other types of storage(e.g., Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and/or anysuitable combination thereof. The term “machine-readable medium” shouldbe taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, or associated caches and servers)able to store instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shallalso be taken to include any medium, or combination of multiple media,that is capable of storing instructions (e.g., code) for execution by amachine, such that the instructions, when executed by one or moreprocessors of the machine, cause the machine to perform any one or moreof the methodologies described herein. Accordingly, a “machine-readablemedium” refers to a single storage apparatus or device, as well as“cloud-based” storage systems or storage networks that include multiplestorage apparatus or devices. The term “machine-readable medium”excludes signals per se.

“COMPONENT” in this context refers to a device, physical entity or logichaving boundaries defined by function or subroutine calls, branchpoints, application program interfaces (APIs), or other technologiesthat provide for the partitioning or modularization of particularprocessing or control functions. Components may be combined via theirinterfaces with other components to carry out a machine process. Acomponent may be a packaged functional hardware unit designed for usewith other components and a part of a program that usually performs aparticular function of related functions. Components may constituteeither software components (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readablemedium) or hardware components. A “hardware component” is a tangibleunit capable of performing certain operations and may be configured orarranged in a certain physical manner. In various example embodiments,one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computer system, aclient computer system, or a server computer system) or one or morehardware components of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a groupof processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application orapplication portion) as a hardware component that operates to performcertain operations as described herein. A hardware component may also beimplemented mechanically, electronically, or any suitable combinationthereof. For example, a hardware component may include dedicatedcircuitry or logic that is permanently configured to perform certainoperations. A hardware component may be a special-purpose processor,such as a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). A hardware component may alsoinclude programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configuredby software to perform certain operations. For example, a hardwarecomponent may include software executed by a general-purpose processoror other programmable processor. Once configured by such software,hardware components become specific machines (or specific components ofa machine) uniquely tailored to perform the configured functions and areno longer general-purpose processors. It will be appreciated that thedecision to implement a hardware component mechanically, in dedicatedand permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configuredcircuitry (e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and timeconsiderations. Accordingly, the phrase “hardware component” (or“hardware-implemented component”) should be understood to encompass atangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed,permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily configured(e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or to perform certainoperations described herein. Considering embodiments in which hardwarecomponents are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of thehardware components need not be configured or instantiated at any oneinstance in time. For example, where a hardware component comprises ageneral-purpose processor configured by software to become aspecial-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may beconfigured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g.,comprising different hardware components) at different times. Softwareaccordingly configures a particular processor or processors, forexample, to constitute a particular hardware component at one instanceof time and to constitute a different hardware component at a differentinstance of time. Hardware components can provide information to, andreceive information from, other hardware components. Accordingly, thedescribed hardware components may be regarded as being communicativelycoupled. Where multiple hardware components exist contemporaneously,communications may be achieved through signal transmission (e.g., overappropriate circuits and buses) between or among two or more of thehardware components. In embodiments in which multiple hardwarecomponents are configured or instantiated at different times,communications between such hardware components may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware components have access. Forexample, one hardware component may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware component may then, at alater time, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware components may also initiate communications with inputor output devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation). The various operations of example methods described hereinmay be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implementedcomponents that operate to perform one or more operations or functionsdescribed herein. As used herein, “processor-implemented component”refers to a hardware component implemented using one or more processors.Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, with a particular processor or processors beingan example of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations ofa method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented components. Moreover, the one or more processorsmay also operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a“cloud computing” environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS).For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a groupof computers (as examples of machines including processors), with theseoperations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and viaone or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., an Application ProgramInterface (API)). The performance of certain of the operations may bedistributed among the processors, not only residing within a singlemachine, but deployed across a number of machines. In some exampleembodiments, the processors or processor-implemented components may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other exampleembodiments, the processors or processor-implemented components may bedistributed across a number of geographic locations.

“PROCESSOR” in this context refers to any circuit or virtual circuit (aphysical circuit emulated by logic executing on an actual processor)that manipulates data values according to control signals (e.g.,“commands”, “op codes”, “machine code”, etc.) and which producescorresponding output signals that are applied to operate a machine. Aprocessor may, for example, be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), aReduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, a ComplexInstruction Set Computing (CISC) processor, a Graphics Processing Unit(GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC), a Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC)or any combination thereof. A processor may further be a multi-coreprocessor having two or more independent processors (sometimes referredto as “cores”) that may execute instructions contemporaneously.

“TIMESTAMP” in this context refers to a sequence of characters orencoded information identifying when a certain event occurred, forexample giving date and time of day, sometimes accurate to a smallfraction of a second.

What is provisionally claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: accessing afirst media item at a client device; receiving a selection of a secondmedia item from the client device, the second media item including anaddress that locates the second media item; generating a graphical iconbased on the second media item in response to the selection of thesecond media item; assigning the address that locates the second mediaitem to the graphical icon; and generating a data object based on thefirst media item and the graphical icon, the data object comprising apresentation of the first media item that includes a display of thegraphical icon at a position within the presentation of the first mediaitem.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the selection ofthe second media item further comprises: receiving a search query fromthe client device; causing display of a plurality of media items basedon the search query at the client device, the plurality of media itemsincluding at least the second media item, and receiving the selection ofthe second media item from among the plurality of media items.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the second media item includes a mediaproperty, and the generating the graphical icon based on the secondmedia item includes: generating the graphical icon based on the mediaproperty of the second media item.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein themedia property is a media type.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theaddress includes a Universal Resource Locator.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the client device is a first client device, and the methodfurther comprises: generating a message that includes the data object,the message addressed to a second client device; causing display of thepresentation of the first media item at the second client device;receiving an input that selects the display of the graphical icon:accessing the second media item at the second client device based on theaddress assigned to the graphical icon; and causing display of thesecond media item within the presentation of the first media item. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein the message includes an ephemeralmessage.
 8. A system comprising: a memory; and at least one hardwareprocessor couple to the memory and comprising instructions that causethe system to perform operations comprising: accessing a first mediaitem at a client device; receiving a selection of a second media itemfrom the client device, the second media item including an address thatlocates the second media item; generating a graphical icon based on thesecond media item in response to the selection of the second media item;assigning the address that locates the second media item to thegraphical icon; and generating a data object based on the first mediaitem and the graphical icon, the data object comprising a presentationof the first media item that includes a display of the graphical icon ata position within the presentation of the first media item.
 9. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the receiving the selection of the secondmedia item further comprises: receiving a search query from the clientdevice; causing display of a plurality of media items based on thesearch query at the client device, the plurality of media itemsincluding at least the second media item; and receiving the selection ofthe second media item from among the plurality of media items.
 10. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the second media item includes a mediaproperty, and the generating the graphical icon based on the secondmedia item includes: generating the graphical icon based on the mediaproperty of the second media item.
 11. The system of claim 10, whereinthe media property is a media type.
 12. The system of claim 8, whereinthe address includes a Universal Resource Locator.
 13. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the client device is a first client device, and theoperations further comprise: generating a message that includes the dataobject, the message addressed to a second client device; causing displayof the presentation of the first media item at the second client device;receiving an input that selects the display of the graphical icon;accessing the second media item at the second client device based on theaddress assigned to the graphical icon; and causing display of thesecond media item within the presentation of the first media item. 14.The system of claim 13, wherein the message includes an ephemeralmessage.
 15. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprisinginstructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine,cause the machine to perform operations including: accessing a firstmedia item at a client device; receiving a selection of a second mediaitem from the client device, the second media item including an addressthat locates the second media item; generating a graphical icon based onthe second media item in response to the selection of the second mediaitem; assigning the address that locates the second media item to thegraphical icon; and generating a data object based on the first mediaitem and the graphical icon, the data object comprising a presentationof the first media item that includes a display of the graphical icon ata position within the presentation of the first media item.
 16. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein thereceiving the selection of the second media item further comprises:receiving a search query from the client device; causing display of aplurality of media items based on the search query at the client device,the plurality of media items including at least the second media item;and receiving the selection of the second media item from among theplurality of media items.
 17. The non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium of claim 15, wherein the second media item includes amedia property, and the generating the graphical icon based on thesecond media item includes: generating the graphical icon based on themedia property of the second media item.
 18. The non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the media propertyis a media type.
 19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage mediumof claim 17, wherein the address includes a Universal Resource Locator.20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15,wherein the client device is a first client device, and the operationsfurther comprise: generating a message that includes the data object,the message addressed to a second client device; causing display of thepresentation of the first media item at the second client device;receiving an input that selects the display of the graphical icon;accessing the second media item at the second client device based on theaddress assigned to the graphical icon; and causing display of thesecond media item within the presentation of the first media item.